Correcting an Apple online store listing from earlier Thursday, TomTom U.K. announced that the iPhone car kit accessory will have a retail price of £99.99 but will not include the TomTom application.

"TomTom announces today that the TomTom car kit for the iPhone will have a recommended retail price of £99.99," the company said in a press release. "The TomTom car kit will be available this October and will be sold separately from the TomTom app. It will be compatible with the iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS. All further details on the car kit will be made available soon."

That conflicts with earlier reports that the kit would include the software as a bundle. It also disputes the Apple Store page, which was listed for a short time Thursday, that explicitly stated the TomTom application would be part of the package.

Not stated in the press release is whether the iPod touch will be compatible with the hardware kit. The windshield mount includes an external GPS receiver that is said to improve the reception of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

Unlike those models, first-generation iPhone does not include an internal GPS receiver, but the press release states that the device will work with the hardware. That corrects an apparent error in the previous Apple Store listing, which said that the TomTom software would not work on the first-generation iPhone.

Originally due for release over the summer, the kit was delayed until October. The TomTom application was released in the App Store in August at a price of $99 U.S. No U.S. price for the hardware kit has been made available.

So... we can have the pleasure of using our iPhones as docked GPS units for something like $260? What a joke. Better to buy an extremely nice GPS unit on sale--high end stuff here--rather than conform to our iPhone screen and complicate use of our phones. Or even better yet, buy a perfectly functional GPS for under $100 and bank the rest.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone that can do him absolutely no good. Samuel Johnson

Correcting an Apple online store listing from earlier Thursday, TomTom U.K. announced that the iPhone car kit accessory will have a retail price of £99.99 but will not include the TomTom application.

"TomTom announces today that the TomTom car kit for the iPhone will have a recommended retail price of £99.99," the company said in a press release. "The TomTom car kit will be available this October and will be sold separately from the TomTom app. It will be compatible with the iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS. All further details on the car kit will be made available soon."

That conflicts with earlier reports that the kit would include the software as a bundle. It also disputes the Apple Store page, which was listed for a short time Thursday, that explicitly stated the TomTom application would be part of the package.

Not stated in the press release is whether the iPod touch will be compatible with the hardware kit. The windshield mount includes an external GPS receiver that is said to improve the reception of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

Unlike those models, first-generation iPhone does not include an internal GPS receiver, but the press release states that the device will work with the hardware. That corrects an apparent error in the previous Apple Store listing, which said that the TomTom software would not work on the first-generation iPhone.

Originally due for release over the summer, the kit was delayed until October. The TomTom application was released in the App Store in August at a price of $99 U.S. No U.S. price for the hardware kit has been made available.

99 pounds, no Tom Tom app?

Riiiiight.

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either.

Bargain, I will take 3 please......oh, wait.. you need an iPhone and the app at £60. erm, no thanks. LOL

Since they fixed co-pilot its been ace and for only £25. I used it to go across Scotland on tuesday to a really obscure destination near Dunoon and it worked no problem on my iPhone 3GS. The iPhone was in a standard, window mounted, mobile cradle and connected up to the in-car charger and I had no issues whatsoever. Bargain!

They are counting on people thinking "well, shit, even at $250 for kit and app, it does so much more than the stand alone units, cuz it uses the iPhone".

Which of course would mean intentionally ignoring the fact that you have to also buy the iPhone. And signing up for a voice plan. And data plan. I guess if you already have the iphone, you could consider those sunk costs, but it really is unfair to say the kit/app/iphone does more than the stand alones without then including the real cost.

"My 8th grade math teacher once said: "You can't help it if you're dumb, you are born that way. But stupid is self inflicted."" -Hiro.

So... we can have the pleasure of using our iPhones as docked GPS units for something like $260? What a joke. Better to buy an extremely nice GPS unit on sale--high end stuff here--rather than conform to our iPhone screen and complicate use of our phones. Or even better yet, buy a perfectly functional GPS for under $100 and bank the rest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saarek

Are they retarded? Seriously you can buy a TomTom GPS for £69 why on earth would you buy this cheap plastic cradle for £99 followed by the software?

I think we've covered this many times before. I've not made the comparison myself, but many people have stated that the features of the iPhone version is equivalent to the $300-$400 TomTom stand alone units. If all anyone wanted was a sub-$100 unit, why would TomTom bother selling a $400 unit? Obviously, some people are willing to pay for more than basic functionality. If you aren't, that's fine. Go buy the cheaper units.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tulkas

They are counting on people thinking "well, shit, even at $250 for kit and app, it does so much more than the stand alone units, cuz it uses the iPhone".

Which of course would mean intentionally ignoring the fact that you have to also buy the iPhone. And signing up for a voice plan. And data plan. I guess if you already have the iphone, you could consider those sunk costs, but it really is unfair to say the kit/app/iphone does more than the stand alones without then including the real cost.

That's a pretty foolish argument. If you are buying an iPhone soley for the purpose of using the TomTom software and hardare, then you deserve to get screwed out of your money. Nobody is going to say, "wow, I'd like to use TomTom, I need to go buy an iPhone." And if you already own an iPhone, it's not even "sunk costs". That implies you spent the money for the purpose of getting the TomTom unit and aren't using the iPhone for anything else other than the TomTom unit.

Yes, it's expensive. But keep in mind that according to early information you are also able to use the TomTom cradle with other GPS software on the iPhone. Should TomTom offer the cradle at little-to-no profit, which would be fair to TomTom app purchasers, but then let other app developers leverage their product? Hopefully there will eventually be a bundling or rebate offer to reward those who purchase both the TomTom hardware and TomTom app.

I think we've covered this many times before. I've not made the comparison myself, but many people have stated that the features of the iPhone version is equivalent to the $300-$400 TomTom stand alone units. If all anyone wanted was a sub-$100 unit, why would TomTom bother selling a $400 unit? Obviously, some people are willing to pay for more than basic functionality. If you aren't, that's fine. Go buy the cheaper units.

A... TomTom apologist? If you're going to spend that much money why would you buy a GPS from TomTom, when there are much better alternatives? And you've done a most excellent job of focusing on a few potential perks while completely ignoring a few specific advantages of a dedicated unit (such as a much larger screen) and disadvantages of using an iPhone (Do you want to listen to music? Phone calls interfering with navigation?). I was as excited about this TomTom app as most anyone else, but frankly, at this price range you can get features far greater than what is being offered through the iPhone app (read reviews in the app store from people who have purchased it).

GPS units are very easy to get on sale and the iPhone doesn't offer much to GPS navigation that you can't get through a dedicated unit while at the same time introducing some flaws. I just don't see the value in this.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone that can do him absolutely no good. Samuel Johnson

I'd wait - don't buy the TomTom cradle at all. I'm sure someone else will make a similar cradle for half the price.... Buy that one to stick it to TomTom. The company must be filled with idiots - the software is pretty shoddy with missing features at too high a price. If people hold off and don't buy it, they'll be forced to lower their prices.

I think we've covered this many times before. I've not made the comparison myself, but many people have stated that the features of the iPhone version is equivalent to the $300-$400 TomTom stand alone units. If all anyone wanted was a sub-$100 unit, why would TomTom bother selling a $400 unit? Obviously, some people are willing to pay for more than basic functionality. If you aren't, that's fine. Go buy the cheaper units.

That's a pretty foolish argument. If you are buying an iPhone soley for the purpose of using the TomTom software and hardare, then you deserve to get screwed out of your money. Nobody is going to say, "wow, I'd like to use TomTom, I need to go buy an iPhone." And if you already own an iPhone, it's not even "sunk costs". That implies you spent the money for the purpose of getting the TomTom unit and aren't using the iPhone for anything else other than the TomTom unit.

Yes, it's expensive. But keep in mind that according to early information you are also able to use the TomTom cradle with other GPS software on the iPhone. Should TomTom offer the cradle at little-to-no profit, which would be fair to TomTom app purchasers, but then let other app developers leverage their product? Hopefully there will eventually be a bundling or rebate offer to reward those who purchase both the TomTom hardware and TomTom app.

Very true. Glad someone here has a little sense

£100 cradle + £60 app = £160. Seems like a perfectly reasonable and average price for a GPS system. You can get cheaper ones, if you want a cheaper one, get one of those. You can also get more expensive ones, if you want lots of features, get one of those.
Honestly, what were you guys expecting to pay...?

So... we can have the pleasure of using our iPhones as docked GPS units for something like $260? What a joke. Better to buy an extremely nice GPS unit on sale--high end stuff here--rather than conform to our iPhone screen and complicate use of our phones. Or even better yet, buy a perfectly functional GPS for under $100 and bank the rest.

As I answered you previously:

Well you do get what you pay for.

Based on folks I would trust more than somebody that has never even seen one, it would appear that stand-alones are on there way out. Certainly, without a data connection, even the highest end GPS units aren't going to be able to match what TomTom is offering.

If all you are going to do is use your GPS to tell you were you are and how to get to where you are going, you could save your $100 by just listening to your wife.

Putting out $260 for a unit that is probably going to suffice for at least 3 years or more, to save 15¢ a day seems like a rather chintzy amount.

£100 cradle + £60 app = £160. Seems like a perfectly reasonable and average price for a GPS system. You can get cheaper ones, if you want a cheaper one, get one of those. You can also get more expensive ones, if you want lots of features, get one of those.
Honestly, what were you guys expecting to pay...?

I am not going to say that the price is really good, but I do not think it is as stiff a most people make it sound either. It will bring a quality mount with speaker and charger, GPS support for classic iPhones and touches plus the signal improvement for 3G/3Gs owners. So, of course, if somebody already has a decent window mount, a charger, connectivity to a speaker/stereo in place and is using a 3G/3GS (which do not really have GPS reception problems, I use the Navigon app since it arrived and only ever loose GPS in tunnels)... then the calculation is not looking attractive. For original iPhone users and touch users it is a different story, they actually buy functionality they can't have otherwise and buying all the bits and pieces separately is not really much cheaper, if at all (my Sweden-made quality car mount was almost as expensive as the TomTom unit, but comes without a GPS receiver, speaker or charger).

For me, the more severe story is how far TomTom is behind Navigon in the software department. They were several weeks late, the original release was clearly behind Navigon in features and Navigon has released several huge updates since then (text-to-speech, iPod controls etc.), even a live traffic data feature (in-app purchase) that is very reasonably priced will come in October, and they won every single detailed comparison/review I ran across. If TomTom makes a bigger effort in the software department, I can see quite a few people buying this.

A $100 unit is fine for people who are looking for basic functionality with some of the basic benefits the TomTom cradle offers the iPhone (e.g. a mounting solution, improved GPS reception). GPS reception is excellent on most stand-alone GPS units regardless of price range. But the $100 point I made was not my entire point by any means.

Converted to American dollars this is looking something like $250. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less, depending on how TomTom prices the docking solution for the iPhone. For that much money you can buy an excellent stand-alone Garmin, or some other GPS which blows any TomTom offering right out of the water (not dissin' TomTom here, just being realistic. I've been using a TomTom for a long time now). You also don't have to worry about how you're going to handle phone calls (probably a big deal for most people who are interested in a GPS in this price range), gives you a bigger easier to use screen, your iPhone is free for other purposes, and isn't subject to the wear and tear or potential temperatures of being mounted on your dashboard.

If TomTom wanted to be serious about this they should have taken advantage of the drastically reduced hardware costs associated with such a unit. Instead they've pushed the buck more than any other company I can think of producing a GPS app for the iPhone. I'm not saying there's no value in their offering--the value of their offering is just insufficient.

If I'm going to pay a premium price, I'm content to get more from a nice Garmin unit. And, mentioned again, anybody with half a brain can get an excellent discount on stand-alone GPS units with a little patience and internet research.

"Well you do get what you pay for," you say.
I sure don't think you do with the TomTom and mount combo.
Well, unless showing off your iPhone has an some kind of twisted inherent value.

Now if TomTom were to actually offer some serious cool enhancements to their GPS software which take advantage of the iPhone and its data connection in unique and innovative ways, while at the same time offering the most important features of high-end GPS solutions (they're still playing catchup in far too many areas) I can climb on board with a premium price. I'm not just convinced how far they're going to push this opportunity. They've been a laggard in the GPS community for a while.

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone that can do him absolutely no good. Samuel Johnson

A $100 unit is fine for people who are looking for basic functionality with some of the basic benefits the TomTom cradle offers the iPhone (e.g. a mounting solution, improved GPS reception). GPS reception is excellent on most stand-alone GPS units regardless of price range. But the $100 point I made was not my entire point by any means.

Converted to American dollars this is looking something like $250. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less, depending on how TomTom prices the docking solution for the iPhone. For that much money you can buy an excellent stand-alone Garmin, or some other GPS which blows any TomTom offering right out of the water (not dissin' TomTom here, just being realistic. I've been using a TomTom for a long time now). You also don't have to worry about how you're going to handle phone calls (probably a big deal for most people who are interested in a GPS in this price range), gives you a bigger easier to use screen, your iPhone is free for other purposes, and isn't subject to the wear and tear or potential temperatures of being mounted on your dashboard.

If TomTom wanted to be serious about this they should have taken advantage of the drastically reduced hardware costs associated with such a unit. Instead they've pushed the buck more than any other company I can think of producing a GPS app for the iPhone. I'm not saying there's no value in their offering--the value of their offering is just insufficient.

If I'm going to pay a premium price, I'm content to get more from a nice Garmin unit. And, mentioned again, anybody with half a brain can get an excellent discount on stand-alone GPS units with a little patience and internet research.

"Well you do get what you pay for," you say.
I sure don't think you do with the TomTom and mount combo.
Well, unless showing off your iPhone has an some kind of twisted inherent value.

Now if TomTom were to actually offer some serious cool enhancements to their GPS software which take advantage of the iPhone and its data connection in unique and innovative ways, while at the same time offering the most important features of high-end GPS solutions (they're still playing catchup in far too many areas) I can climb on board with a premium price. I'm not just convinced how far they're going to push this opportunity. They've been a laggard in the GPS community for a while.

As a TomTom G0300 owner, I know it's old, and an owner of the new iPhone TomTom app, I completely agree with you. I hedged a bet that TomTom will come out with software features to catch up and I also liked the idea of the GPS mount/cradle that they had demo'd at MacWorld. Unfortunately, I'm starting to think I put my money on the wrong horse in this race. If they take as long updating this app the same they did coming out with it, it's going to be a long wait. I seem to remember a time almost 1 1/2 years ago when people were saying TomTom had an app ready for the iPhone, then nothing. I don't know, I made my bed so I guess I'll have to wait and see how much they charge in the US for this and cross fingers they update the app quicker than I anticipate.

Nope. Never used one. Don't currently have a need for one. Just trying to bring a little balance. Not everyone buys the cheapest version of a thing they want. If that was the case we'd all be buying PCs instead of Macs, right?

Nope. Never used one. Don't currently have a need for one. Just trying to bring a little balance. Not everyone buys the cheapest version of a thing they want. If that was the case we'd all be buying PCs instead of Macs, right?

You've completely missed the point. It's not about cheap, it's about cheap shit for a premium price.

Whats amazing to me, is how many people responding, (like those that insist google does the same thing) have NO clue what a complete GPS system does. The other thing many don't understand, is the tom tom hardware base is NOT just a cheap plastic base. It has an internal sirf GPS chip that is MUCH more powerful than the gps chip that is in the iPhone. Plus, it has a charger built in that keeps the iphone charged, along with a much louder speaker than what is in the iphone.

Now, all of this said, I will probably not be purchasing one, since I have a 1st gen touch, a blackberry that has the Garmin GPS app on it, and a garmin standalone unit that I mainly use for my long distance GPS system. If I were to ever get an iPhone, more than likely, I would definitely consider this TomTom package. (but would expect the app to be included with the base, like any normal sane human being).

Based on folks I would trust more than somebody that has never even seen one, it would appear that stand-alones are on there way out. Certainly, without a data connection, even the highest end GPS units aren't going to be able to match what TomTom is offering.

Except that Navigon will match what TomTom is offering for less and has text to speech. No TTS and you certainly are NOT a high end GPS offering. I also don't believe that the app or dock will support BT stereo A2DP to the car.

Frankly the window is somewhat small for the TomTom dock. Cars are getting more and more iPod support even on the cheaper cars like the Honda FIT. I would expect that many cars will integrate their in-car nav systems (and better GPS + dead reckoning) with the iPhone.

Quote:

If all you are going to do is use your GPS to tell you were you are and how to get to where you are going, you could save your $100 by just listening to your wife.

Putting out $260 for a unit that is probably going to suffice for at least 3 years or more, to save 15¢ a day seems like a rather chintzy amount.

After three years, Tom Tom probably expects you to update the maps at least once for $75. The "current" map isn't very new and the POIs a bit out of date.

I'd rather get a dedicated GPS unit that will do TTS and not STOP WORKING WHEN I TAKE A CALL and use my iPhone as a backup GPS or something I use in someone else's car.

That's a pretty foolish argument. If you are buying an iPhone soley for the purpose of using the TomTom software and hardare, then you deserve to get screwed out of your money. Nobody is going to say, "wow, I'd like to use TomTom, I need to go buy an iPhone." And if you already own an iPhone, it's not even "sunk costs". That implies you spent the money for the purpose of getting the TomTom unit and aren't using the iPhone for anything else other than the TomTom unit.

Who said anything about buying an iPhone just to use TomTom? But, when doing comparisons of pricing and features, if you include the features provided only by the iphone as part of the value equation, then it is only fair to include the cost. You cannot have the features provided by the iPhone without having paid the cost of the iPhone. Those 'extra' features did not come free.

It would be fair to look at what value does the ~$250 combo get you, over and above a stand alone unit.

"My 8th grade math teacher once said: "You can't help it if you're dumb, you are born that way. But stupid is self inflicted."" -Hiro.

Tomtom is alienating their base. No wonder Navigon is #1 in gross sales and Tomtom is #14 (and tomtom is more expensive!). Shame on tomtom...

They're not alienating their base, they're covering their butt. This pricing decision is meant to make the TomTom hardware option look more attractive. They would have been better served not even offering this product... and hope the iPhone never catches on!

It would be fair to look at what value does the ~$250 combo get you, over and above a stand alone unit.

Listen, they have messed up, firstly they have alienated everyone against TomTom, they are basically charging £99 for a piece of plastic, considering you can buy a DVD player now for £30 and a sat nav for £60 with the cradle they have lost their minds. There are nav apps already available for the iphone, it is only a matter of time before chinese manufacturers start advertising cradles on Ebay for £10. Instead of cornering the market TomTom has created one.

Not stated in the press release is whether the iPod touch will be compatible with the hardware kit. The windshield mount includes an external GPS receiver that is said to improve the reception of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

Good thing you upgraded from the iPhone 2G to the 3GS to get that GPS receiver, so you can now buy a $160 external GPS receiver to use with it.

£100 cradle + £60 app = £160. Seems like a perfectly reasonable and average price for a GPS system. You can get cheaper ones, if you want a cheaper one, get one of those. You can also get more expensive ones, if you want lots of features, get one of those.
Honestly, what were you guys expecting to pay...?

It's far from reasonable, it's a scam pure and simple. You can buy a full TomTom GPS, with screen, mount, software, etc for £100. £160 for the iPhone app + mount, remembering that most of the hardware needed YOU ALREADY OWN it's utterly absurd. To make matters worse it ties up the dock connector meaning FM transmitters won't work anymore, so no music through the car stereo. (unless you have an aux in port)

No wonder other GPS apps are outselling TomTom on the app store. This is destined for failure.

Listen, they have messed up, firstly they have alienated everyone against TomTom, they are basically charging £99 for a piece of plastic, considering you can buy a DVD player now for £30 and a sat nav for £60 with the cradle they have lost their minds. There are nav apps already available for the iphone, it is only a matter of time before chinese manufacturers start advertising cradles on Ebay for £10. Instead of cornering the market TomTom has created one.

hey, I agree with you.

It just gets under my skin when the same apologists come on and defend any action taken by Apple partners. The same people defend the carrier incompetence and prices. With TomTom being the GPS app that is being prompted by Apple, it seems that no matter what moves they make, these same people will defend them. TomTom could have priced the app at $300 and the kit at $300 and these same people would come on here and say:
"But look at what the iPhone + kit + app can do that a stand alone can't...it really is a good value"
"You are all cheap whiners who want everything for free. If you think it is overpriced you are just cheap"
"You get what you pay for. Since they are charging so much, that means it must be good...that's just good logic"

They honestly seem incapable of understanding that iPhone users don't always feel the need to get reamed on pricing. Sometimes, even though we like premium products, we still want good value.

"My 8th grade math teacher once said: "You can't help it if you're dumb, you are born that way. But stupid is self inflicted."" -Hiro.

It just gets under my skin when the same apologists come on and defend any action taken by Apple partners. The same people defend the carrier incompetence and prices. With TomTom being the GPS app that is being prompted by Apple, it seems that no matter what moves they make, these same people will defend them. TomTom could have priced the app at $300 and the kit at $300 and these same people would come on here and say:
"But look at what the iPhone + kit + app can do that a stand alone can't...it really is a good value"
"You are all cheap whiners who want everything for free. If you think it is overpriced you are just cheap"
"You get what you pay for. Since they are charging so much, that means it must be good...that's just good logic"

They honestly seem incapable of understanding that iPhone users don't always feel the need to get reamed on pricing. Sometimes, even though we like premium products, we still want good value.

You are wrong, I am an apple "apologist" so to speak, and look at what I wrote above. And I am not alone. Most of us are thrilled with apple and write lauding comments but when something is wrong we are the harshest critics. That's the same mentality for people working within apple as well, they are 100% behind apple but are also the most astute critics. That's how successful companies are made, you back the company 100% but when a problem arises you are vocally critical so ast to close up on the potential problem at hand, resolve it and move on.

Others of course follow the strategy of paying billions of dollars to get their ad agencies issue ads made on a mac (or shoe store adds that get axed after three days) or issuing promotional material of products with their screens not displaying full words such as "marketplace" without the last e getting chopped off.

And of course there's that other masterful tactic of inciting creepy Tupperware type private parties at the launch of a product.

Good thing you upgraded from the iPhone 2G to the 3GS to get that GPS receiver, so you can now buy a $160 external GPS receiver to use with it.

Haha

I bought the TomTom app the morning it came out and it has worked fine for me in every way. It has not frozen, the speakerphone is loud enough, and the GPS antenna is pretty accurate. You're right, theres no reason to buy the dock for its GPS enhancements. The only thing I see that I like is the fact that it mounts to the windshield and charges itself, which I could find cheaper alternatives to charging my iPhone in my car as I use the GPS.

This is ridiculous! I was thinking maybe $50 for the dock after I spent $99 on the app. I just can't see spending more than $50 for a suction cup and batter charger.

You are wrong, I am an apple "apologist" so to speak, and look at what I wrote above. And I am not alone. Most of us are thrilled with apple and write lauding comments but when something is wrong we are the harshest critics. That's the same mentality for people working within apple as well, they are 100% behind apple but are also the most astute critics. That's how successful companies are made, you back the company 100% but when a problem arises you are vocally critical so ast to close up on the potential problem at hand, resolve it and move on.

Others of course follow the strategy of paying billions of dollars to get their ad agencies issue ads made on a mac (or shoe store adds that get axed after three days) or issuing promotional material of products with their screens not displaying full words such as "marketplace" without the last e getting chopped off.

And of course there's that other masterful tactic of inciting creepy Tupperware type private parties at the launch of a product.

To each his own.

Huh?

So, you don't think there are people here arguing that this is a reasonable priced unit? You don't think there are people here saying that if you think TomTom is overpricing their offerings then you are just complaining?

I think you must have misread my post. Or you think I am wrong, and you agree with the pricing the TomTom has gone with. Also, you might think I am wrong and believe that there is no one here saying it is wrong to criticize TomTom/Apple?

BTW, I did not say that all Apple fans were apologists or that all apologists were always wrong. I am generally one myself. But, there are apologists here that will never have a negative remark for Apple or their partners nor stand for anyone that has a harsh word for them.

"My 8th grade math teacher once said: "You can't help it if you're dumb, you are born that way. But stupid is self inflicted."" -Hiro.